While at the Starnet Heath show last weekend, we were on the lookout for local goods to share as Heath always is championing fantastic local makers. We wish we knew how they found them! One that took over a small, discrete table was the work of Alma Allen, a Joshua Tree based sculptor and maker. His work is great and really is quite reflective of his desert home.

Allen makes everything from tiny bronze hand bowls and cups to rugged walnut tables and stools and even abstract sculptures he molds from stone. His pieces are at all times unrefined yet restrained by design, whether it be wood repurposed to be the surface of a table or tough stones smoothed into a delicate shape. He appears to be able to accomplish just about anything he wants with his work which, as you can tell from his blog, happens in his very desert immersed studio. Unlike like artists in Los Angeles or city proper, his work really does have a connection with where they are made. Perhaps it his the photos he takes of them, I’m not sure. Regardless, they seem to be like creations Joshua Tree wildlife make and leave at the bottom of hillsides for residents to place in their houses.

Allen currently has some pieces for sale at Heath and has lots of work around town (for example, he designed Pearce on Abbot Kinney and made fixtures and stools for COMMUNE‘s designed Ace Hotel, Hollywood Trading Company, and Malibu’s Oliver Peoples). His work definitely feels high end and raw, which we’re sure is exactly why it’s been in Architectural Digest a few times. We’re also convinced that Kelly Wearstler has to be obsessed with his work as his pieces all look like they could very easily be seen in her store. We’ll have to return to the store to see if we spot any of his pieces…